The isolation of certain microscale components is an important factor in several applications where the ability to differentially analyze properties exhibited by varying types of components (e.g. cell types) is desired.
For example, the ability to recognize properties typical of a component included in a matrix with other similar components, can be of importance in various fields, including in particular biological fields. In particular, the ability to identify properties which cause a cell to behave in a certain way is expected to promote an understanding of how cells behave both normally and abnormally. For example, the ability to selectively analyze cancerous cells is expected to provide insight into the particular biochemical activities of those cells relative to normal cells.
However, separating different cell types and in particular cancerous cells from non-cancerous cells can be a difficult endeavor.